This invention relates to improving energy derived from digestion of carbohydrates in warm-blooded animals. More particularly, this invention relates to improving the digestion coefficient of carbohydrates in warm-blooded animals through the use of certain amino acid chelates to stimulate and enhance enzymatic carbohydrase activity.
In formulating feeds or diets for warm-blooded animals, including human beings, five of the six basic nutrients are generally taken into account. These are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals; the sixth nutrient being water. The percentage of each nutrient digested in the food is called its "digestion coefficient." Average digestion coefficients for many foods or ingredients of foods are provided in data tables as a result of numerous balance studies.
Balance studies are done by first analyzing the food for the percentage of each nutrient that it contains. After a preliminary period of several days to allow the residue of any former food to be eliminated, a certain quantity of experimental food with a known nutrient composition is fed daily to the test animal or animals. The feces are collected, weighed and analyzed. The differences between the amount of the nutrient in the food ingested and the amount found in the feces is the amount of nutrient that is digested from the food being studied. As stated above, the percentage of food digested is called the digestion coefficient.
In addition to digestion coefficients one should also consider net energy values of the carbohydrates being ingested. The six nutrients listed above have three basic functions: (1) to provide a source of energy; (2) for growth and maintenance of body tissue; and (3) to regulate body process. The provision of energy is the predominant role and must be satisfied at the expense of the other nutritive roles if there are insufficient nutrients to accomplish all three functions.
Not all of the energy from the food, as measured by the digestion coefficient, goes to support the animal. Some of that energy is lost in the urea and other nitrogenous waste products that are excreted in the urine. In the case of ruminants, and to a lesser extent monogastric animals, a small amount of energy is lost in the combustible gases, such as methane, which is produced in the digestive tract. There is a considerable loss of energy which occurs in the various necessary processes of chewing, digesting, and assimilating the food. Thus, one must deduct these losses from the total gross energy digestion coefficient to obtain the net energy value.
Any improvement which can be made in the efficiency of digestion of the carbohydrates, which is a major energy source in foods, is of real economic and nutritional importance.
The role of carbohydrates is to provide a source of energy for the animal or man. Although energy can also be obtained from fats and proteins, carbohydrates are generally the major source of energy in the diets of animals and man. A certain amount of ingested carbohydrates remains undigested and is collected in the feces. The potential energy value of that undigested carbohydrate is lost to the animal. Furthermore, if digestion is inefficient, more potential energy will be lost in the digestion process than is necessary. This makes inefficient digestion of carbohydrates result in greater expense because more carbohydrates must be consumed to meet its energy needs, or in the alternative, the animal must ingest more dietary fats or proteins which are more expensive sources of energy. Furthermore, with growing animals or children it is not profitable to remove body stores of fat or protein to meet energy needs. Thus it would be beneficial both economically and to the recipient host to improve the digestion coefficient and net energy values of carbohydrates by improving their digestibility.